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Dentrosaurus
Dentrosaurus (Dentrosaurus edafos), meaning "Tree lizard", is thought to be descended from early species of the superorder Crocodylomorpha. There is only one species of dentrosaurus, although their could be more, as they are poorly understood and they're hard to study. they live underground and are famously known for the large tree looking growth protruding from their back, which they use to lure herbivores, when the prey come into close proximity, the dentrosaurus erupts from under the ground and captures the prey with its large jaws, some dentrosaurus are even known for letting the prey start eating its leaves or bark before it attacks. Dentrosaurus are a huge problem for Watas who can easily get caught trying to cut down trees. Physical description and anatomy The dentrosaurus is a large brown crocodylomorph with hard scaley skin. most grow up to 8 m long and can weigh up to 5000 kg. They have large claws so they can dig into the ground and have an exelent sence of smell and hearing. The tree like growth is tall and thick, the bark of the tree is actually hardened scales and the leaves are actually flat ,soft and bendy scales with grooves and ridges. The leaves are home to a species of green lichen which shares a symiotic relationship with the dentrosaurus, the lichen help the dentrosaurus to look more like a tree and the dentrosaurus helps the lichen by giving it a place to live with lots of sunlight. The centre of the tree is made of fused spine bones that branch out making it look similar to a deers antler, the smaller branches are cartilage surrounded by scales. Since alot of the spine is fused, dentrosaurus backs are not very flexible and are stiff. The rest of the tree is mostly fat reserves, which it uses for storing the energy that it needs while staying underground for long periods of time. and then an outer layer of hard scales that look like bark and leaves. Ecology and behavior Breeding Dentrosaurus' are solitary animals and only come together to breed, female dentrosaurus lay 30 to 40 eggs in a nest of mud and sticks. the female dentrosaurus exhibit a remarkable level of maternal care for a reptile. She excavates the nest in response to "yelping" calls from the hatchlings, and even gently rolls eggs in her mouth to assist hatching. She remains with the young for several months. Despite her diligence, losses of baby dentrosaurus are heavy due to various predators. Approximately 20% of the hatchlings will survive to adulthood. The young naturally start to disperse after around 8 months, and start to exhibit territorial behaviour at around 2.5-year-old. The young start growing their "trees" as soon as they are born and hide from predators by digging into the ground. Diet and feeding Dentrosaurus' dig into the ground with their large claws and hide there while they wait for prey. The only parts of the dentrosaurus that are exposed to the outside are its nostrils so it can breathe and the "tree". the tree is used to attract herbivores such as bellybons, which eat the bark and leaves of trees. Dentrosaurus' can tell when an animal is nearby bacause they have an exelent sense of smell and hearing. Some dentrosaurus even wait till the animal starts nibbling on them before attacking by quickly lifting out of the ground and grabing the prey with their large powerful jaws. Dentrosaurus' sometimes have to wait for weeks before any prey come, so they use their fat reserves for energy while they wait. Humans' and mers' relationship with dentrosaurus Humans' have known about dentrosaurus' for thousands of years, although most people used to believe dentrosaurus was a myth for a long time. most first hand accounts of dentrosaurus are from watas, who have to cut down trees for resources. Dentrosaurus' also regularly kill watas. Mers' have also known about dentrosaurus for thousands of years. On the tropical island of Baskil, the Neer tribe live on and around a giant tree. The neer tribe believe that the tree is a giant dentrosaurus, and is the god of the land called "meerputer". Most humans believe it is not a giant dentrosaurus, but people have still tried to test this theory, unfortunatly the mers do not like intruders and have so far repelled anyone trying to visit the tree.